


A Flower and A Butterfly

by SarIIon



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Angst, Apathy, Bullying, Complete, Despair, Gen, Pre-Game Akamatsu Kaede, Pre-Game Oma Kokichi, Pre-Game Personalities (New Dangan Ronpa V3), Pre-Game Saihara Shuichi, This ain't happy, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-17 12:33:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18965320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarIIon/pseuds/SarIIon
Summary: Kaede stumbles upon something unexpected...Flowers and Butterflies...they're so pretty...such easy prey.





	A Flower and A Butterfly

_It was just another day. Just another day filled with ugly humanity._ Kaede adjusted the strap of her backpack slightly as she walked down the crowded, noisy hallway.

Just another day at the school.

Just another fight between two girls over a guy who didn’t like either of them.

Just another gaggle of teens snickering behind the curtain of anonymity associated with being in a crowd.

Just another group of guys picking on an underclassman under the stairs.

“S-stop! Please! I-I don’t have any money on me!”

She spared the situation a brief glance and noted with disinterest that the small, purple haired boy shaking with tears was the same one who the group of footballers confronted every lunch hour.

There was no point in attempting to stop the boys. The sports department got away with almost anything as the school never wanted to soil its reputation. No matter how much evidence was brought forward, nothing would change. In fact, intervening would probably make the situation worse for the kid. That was why everyone turned away. That was why everyone ignored the cries for help every morning. “Not my problem” That was the excuse everyone always used. Humans were disgusting creatures after all. Why would she expect anything more?

“Get off of him!”

She turned in surprise at the grunts of pain and football players running past. A taller student wearing the uniform of an upperclassman was helping the trembling boy up.

“Are you okay Kokichi?”

“Y-yeah…h-how do you know my name?”

“I read the story essay you submitted for the competition. It was really creative! I never would’ve thought of a secret organization which focused on making people smile through harmless pranks. You’re truly something else Kokichi…I’m Shuichi Saihara, a junior this year! Have you eaten lunch yet?”

“N-no…but it’s okay. Shuichi, if you’re seen with me, it’ll be trouble for you…”

“Hey, I decide who I want to be friends with, not some bullies.” He grasped the smaller boy’s hand, pulling him lightly down the hallway toward the cafeteria. “Don’t worry, lunch is on me.”

“You…you want to be my friend?”

“Of course!”

~.o.~

Kaede hummed a soft, wandering tune as she walked. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d hummed anything, but today it seemed right.

_Shuichi Saihara…_ He was in her psychology class third hour…probably, she didn’t bother ever learning anyone’s name, but she vaguely remembered hearing his a couple of times from the teacher.

_Shuichi huh?_ She stopped, kneeling down to examine a flash of white which caught her eye. Growing from a crack in the sidewalk was a small flower. Its white petals stood sharply in contrast against the dusty grays of uneven pavement and dirty oranges of discarded cigarette butts scattered among dark green leaves.

_So even in this hell…such a beautiful flower can grow…_

_So even in this hell…someone can do something so selfless…_

She allowed a soft and genuine smile to grace her lips as she carefully picked the flawless white flower, gently holding it between her thumb and index finger the rest of the walk to school.

Maybe she’d leave it on Shuichi’s desk, as a ‘thank you’ for giving her a small glimpse of light in this dark world.

~.o.~

“Shuichi! What is the meaning of this?!”

“Keep your voice down. I’ll give you hell if anyone hears us.”

“We did what you said. We beat up that kid for weeks…so what is this?!”

“Well…I never said I’d stop blackmailing you after that…I just said that if you did what I say, I wouldn’t release these screenshots…immediately.”

“Fuck you! We’re not going to be your servants anymore. Come on guys, we’re leaving!”

“Upupup, I wouldn’t walk away if I was you…Look what I dug up the other day…”

“W-what is that?!”

“Come on now…you guys aren’t stupid…If I release this, a lot of your fathers will definitely lose their jobs… Jack, your old man just got promoted didn’t he? What a shame…you know he’s worked so hard to get where he is now…”

“You fucking douchebag!”

“Back off…I have it preloaded to the cloud, all I have to do to send it is press this button. If you guys get too rough with me, my finger might just slip…”

“Fucking hell! Okay…what do you want this time?”

“Hey Evan? Your dad is the one counting the votes for the essay contest right?”

“Y-yes...Sir!”

“Do me a little favor and remove Essay #3’s votes from the system.”

“That’s Kokichi’s essay…But he’s the one winning right now.”

“Correct. Do I need to repeat myself?

“N-no Sir!”

“Shuichi…what is with your grudge on that kid? He hasn’t done anything to fight back all year…I can’t imagine why you hate him so much.”

“I don’t. I don’t hate him. I love him.”

“W-what?”

“He’s such a beautiful, wonderful, pure butterfly in this sea of disgusting garbage…Ahaha…So beautiful…So lovely, retaining that innocent scared expression even after all everything I’ve put him through…It just makes me love him more…Ahahaha..ahaha…When you see such a beautiful butterfly, doesn’t it make you want to just reach over and rip off its delicate, gossamer wings?”

*Bam!*

Shuichi paused at the sudden noise, turning toward the classroom door. “…If someone was listening…you’d better catch them Phillip…You don’t want anything to happen to Michelle right?”

“Shit! How’d you find out about her?” A tall boy hissed, rushing into the hallway and peering down the stairs. “There’s…there’s no one out here Shuichi…oh!”

“What is it?”

“N-nothing...there’s just a random flower on the ground…Someone must have dropped it, poor thing…it’s crushed.”

The flower’s once pristine white petals had been smashed into the titled floor as if someone had stomped down on them viciously. Bruised brown gradually spread across the velvety leaves. The crushed petals bled clear, slowly staining the tiles with sickly sap as the classroom lights turned off.

~.o.~

                “It’s Kaede…Kaede Akamatsu.” She blinked, slowly tilting her head upwards to look into the camera lens. “I’m perfect for a killing game. I don’t have any faith in humanity.”

**Author's Note:**

> -Idk if I believe the Pregame tapes are real...but if they were...yikes like oof...
> 
> -So why does Shu know the names of a bunch of normies? >>> It's a psychological manipulation tactic (sadly, a real one)


End file.
